The Budget Committee of the German Bundestag has approved the purchase of 105 Leopard 2A8 battle tanks for the Bundeswehr.

This was announced by coalition circles in Berlin on Wednesday. The committee thus approved a corresponding submission from the Ministry of Defense. According to this, the order is worth just under three billion euros. The armaments company KNDS is to supply the tanks to the Bundeswehr until 2030. The main weapon of the Leopard will be supplied by the Rheinmetall armaments group.

The Bundestag's Defense Committee also gave the green light, as the new chairman Marcus Faber announced. The FDP politician wrote on Platform X about the plans for the new tanks: "We are fully equipping the Lithuanian brigade with battle tanks, replacing older Leo2s in the army and creating space for further deliveries to Ukraine." Such large orders also show "that we are serious about our defense and support of Ukraine in the long term". The Budget Committee also approved the purchase of ammunition and four additional Patriot air defense systems, according to reports.

(Report by Maria Martinez and Alexander Ratz, edited by Ralf Bode. If you have any queries, please contact our editorial team at berlin.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com)